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GSK Circles the World for Smiles

February 14, 2019 | Smile Train

GSK employees in Taiwan were recently planning a wellness program, called Orange Walker, wherein teams around the office would compete to reach the highest pedometer total after eight weeks. As an enticement for the staff to get up and get moving, the GSK executive team offered to donate to Smile Train in proportion to the total distance covered. One hundred and eighty employees accepted the challenge and set the ambitious goal of walking 24,901 miles — the equivalent of walking around the world.

The GSK employees went on group hikes and walks over Taiwan — it even became common to see people walking around the room during meetings. The competition to be the top team was fierce, and step-count totals rose every week.

Orange Walker was seen as an opportunity for staff to learn about cleft and about how GSK’s global partnership with Smile Train would help thousands of children around the world.

After the eight weeks were over and all the steps were counted, GSK employee learned that they had more than doubled their initial goal — they’d walked 52,118 miles, and Taiwan’s GSK office donated $3,800 to Smile Train. Masha Feiguinova, Smile Train's Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships, said of GSK’s efforts, “The Orange Walker program is an excellent example of how a small deed can lead to big change when everyone works together. One hundred and eighty motivated people can walk the earth twice over and change the lives of children forever in just a few short weeks.”

Orange Walker was such a success in Tawain, that GSK Hong Kong has also undertaken the challenge — more miles and more smiles.